Pacific Mall and Unionville: A Markham Food and Shopping Day by Car

Pacific Mall and Main Street Unionville: two very different stops

Markham is the part of the Greater Toronto Area that surprises visitors. Within a few minutes of each other you find a very large indoor Asian shopping mall and a restored nineteenth-century village main street with independent shops, cafés and an art gallery. Pacific Mall, on Steeles Avenue East at Kennedy Road, is described by Destination Ontario as a large mall known for its predominantly Asian shops and restaurants. Main Street Unionville, about five kilometres to the north, is described by the same source as a historic hamlet whose main streets are lined with independent shops, cafés and restaurants.

They make a good pair because they are opposites. The mall is loud, crowded on weekends and built around browsing and eating. Unionville is a walk, a coffee and a gallery visit. One day can hold both, as long as you plan the transport rather than improvise it.

This guide is written from the curb: how far each stop is from downtown Toronto and Pearson, where a car can stop, what the city has said about construction on Main Street, and when a bus or the GO train is simply the better choice. If you want a chauffeur for the day, book your Markham limo service here and the booker shows the exact fare for your address before you pay. Even if you never book with us, the notes below should save you a wrong turn.

Is Pacific Mall worth a trip from downtown Toronto?

The mall's draw is volume. Visitors go to wander through many small shops, to eat, to find a gift, to meet friends. It rewards a leisurely visit and a flexible plan rather than a tight appointment. Because store hours at a mall like this vary by shop, we recommend that you do not schedule a hard pick-up time around a single store being open; check the mall and the shop before you set your return time.

Two honest points before you plan. First, we could not open the mall's own website while preparing this guide, so we are not quoting hours, parking arrangements or a store count. Check those directly with the mall before you travel. Second, the mall is in Markham, not Toronto, so a trip from downtown crosses the city limit: Steeles Avenue East is the boundary road between the two.

Getting to Pacific Mall by car

The mall is at 4300 Steeles Avenue East, Markham, at the corner of Kennedy Road. From Union Station the route is about 26 km. In free-flowing traffic that is roughly a 27-minute drive; on a weekday afternoon or a Saturday midday, allow 30 to 50 minutes, because Steeles Avenue, Kennedy Road and the approach roads are busy at the times people go shopping.

From Pearson Airport the distance is about 41 km, usually 45 to 75 minutes depending on Highway 401 and Highway 404 or 407. If you are arriving from overseas and want to go straight to Markham, see our Pearson airport limo page for how pickups work. We track your flight and allow 60 minutes free waiting after landing on international arrivals and 30 on domestic ones.

From the Aga Khan Museum on Wynford Drive the mall is only about 14 km away, usually 20 to 30 minutes, so the two can be paired for a visitor who wants a cultural morning and a shopping afternoon. We cover the museum in a separate guide: the Aga Khan Museum and Don Mills.

Where the car stops at Pacific Mall

We do not have a published drop-off diagram for the mall, and we will not invent one. What we can say as a matter of practice is this. A large mall on a busy arterial road is easiest when the car stops at the closest entrance the driver considers safe and legal, and when the pick-up is agreed as a time and an entrance rather than "outside".

Here is the routine our chauffeurs use for malls generally:

1. Agree on the entrance by its position (for example, the one nearest the food or the one facing Kennedy Road) before you arrive.
2. Share a mobile number so the driver can message you when the car is at the curb.
3. Pick a return time with 15 minutes of margin, because carrying bags to the entrance takes longer than you expect.
4. If your party is large, leave one person at the pick-up point while the rest finish.

If you are bringing a car of your own, parking arrangements are the mall's to publish. Ask the mall in advance rather than relying on a guess.

Main Street Unionville: what it is and why people go

Unionville is a historic village inside Markham, and Main Street Unionville is its main street, about five kilometres north of the mall by road. The City of Markham treats it as a destination in its own right and has been running a restoration project on the street. Visitors walk it for the independent shops, the cafés and restaurants, the feel of an older streetscape, and the Varley Art Gallery.

The drive from Union Station to Main Street Unionville is about 32 km, usually 35 to 55 minutes. From Pearson it is about 46 km, usually 50 to 80 minutes. Between the mall and Unionville the drive is only about 5 km, typically 10 to 15 minutes, which is what makes the day work.

The Varley Art Gallery of Markham

The Varley Art Gallery is at 216 Main Street, Unionville, and the gallery site describes it as both a gallery and a community facility for Markham, with permanent and rotating exhibitions, classes and public programmes. According to its site in October 2026, it is open Tuesday to Friday from noon to 4 pm and Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm, and closed on Mondays. Admission is listed as free, with a link to donate.

Two exhibitions are listed from 26 September to 20 December 2026: "I Think This Means I Can Fly" in the main galleries and "Framing Identity" in the collections gallery. The gallery also lists talks and study sessions through the autumn. The gallery has automatic door openers and an accessible washroom, with fuller details on its accessibility page. Because the gallery is closed on Monday and has shorter hours on weekdays, a Tuesday-to-Friday visit should begin after noon.

Check the current programme at the Varley Art Gallery website before you go.

Construction on Main Street Unionville

If you have been told Main Street is a building site, that is partly true and partly out of date. The City of Markham announced in August 2024 that it would restore Main Street Unionville in phases, upgrading watermains and storm sewers and installing new sidewalks, road surfaces and street lighting. The city's targeted completion was the end of 2025, and the city and the local business association said shops and eateries would stay open during the work. The City of Markham announcement sets out the phases.

We have not confirmed what the street looks like in the weeks you will read this, so the practical advice is general. Before a visit, look at the City of Markham's current traffic notices. If part of Main Street is closed to vehicles, your chauffeur will use a side street and the walk to the shops is a few minutes. The city also said shops and eateries would stay open throughout.

The street-level reality is the same in any older village centre: a car cannot stop in the lane, and public parking is limited, so a drop-off at the end of the block and a pickup at the same spot, agreed in advance, is the cleanest approach.

A Markham day plan: mall, lunch, Unionville, home

Here is a day that works for two to six people, starting from a downtown hotel, by chauffeured car.

1. 10:30 am Depart downtown for Markham. The drive of about 26 km should take 30 to 50 minutes.
2. 11:15 am to 1:30 pm Pacific Mall: browse the shops, have lunch in one of the mall's restaurants.
3. 1:45 pm Short drive of about 5 km to Main Street Unionville.
4. 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm Varley Art Gallery, a coffee or a walk down Main Street.
5. 4:15 pm Car leaves for downtown or Pearson. Do not choose the peak departure; a lighter plan leaves before 4 pm or after 6:30 pm.

Swapping the order is also reasonable: start at Unionville in the morning, when the street is calmer, then the mall in the afternoon, and finish with dinner in Markham. For a flexible itinerary, our hourly chauffeur service keeps the same car and driver with you, with waiting time agreed at booking.

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Beyond the mall: what else Markham offers

Destination Ontario also mentions the Flato Markham Theatre, which hosts live music and theatre throughout the year, and Rouge River Brewery, a small craft brewery with regular events. Both are good evening anchors if you want to extend the day. For motorsport fans, the Honda Indy has moved to Markham; our guide to race weekend access in Markham covers that trip. Alcohol on board follows Ontario law and is confirmed at booking, so if your evening includes a brewery visit the car is the safer way home than driving yourself.

For wider Markham service, including weddings, corporate travel and airport transfers, see our Markham limo service page.

Shopping bags, boot space and group size

A mall day produces luggage. An Executive Sedan takes up to three passengers with two large and two carry-on bags, a Luxury SUV up to six with five or six large bags, and an Executive Sprinter 12 to 14 passengers with 12 or more bags. For a family or a friends' group that plans to shop seriously, the SUV is the sensible choice. The exact vehicle is confirmed at booking.

For larger groups going to Markham from a hotel or a wedding hotel block, our Sprinter van service is a better fit than a convoy of sedans. Child, toddler and booster seats can be requested at booking.

Transit, GO and the honest alternatives

Destination Ontario lists GO Transit's Unionville station, Viva bus rapid transit and the TTC as ways to reach Markham and Unionville, and says driving is the most direct. For a solo visitor with a flexible day, a bus along Steeles can be perfectly good, and the lowest-cost option. A group with shopping bags, an elderly relative or a tight schedule will find a car much easier. The GO Transit site has the current rail timetable, and the TTC site has bus routes.

If you are going to one shop in the mall on a weekday morning, the bus is probably the better choice. If you are moving between the mall, Unionville and a dinner, a car with a driver who waits is the better one.

Weather and the right time to go

Weekends are the busy shopping days, and the roads around Steeles Avenue follow. Weekday late mornings are quieter at both stops. Unionville is at its best on a dry day, since the walk is outdoors. In winter, ice on side streets can make a short walk slower, so ask your chauffeur to stop as close as the street allows.

Booking your Markham limo service

Choose the vehicle by passengers and bags, enter your pickup address and the stops in order, and set the time. The booker shows the exact all-in fare before you confirm. Cancellation is free with more than 72 hours' notice; 72 hours or less 10%; 48 hours or less 50%; 24 hours or less or a no-show 100%, measured from the scheduled pickup time.

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For more places to visit by car, browse our attractions guides and the Canada's Wonderland family day guide for another York Region outing.